The Sho-Sho Society

“Good fellowship for those who keep the Chauchat”

Established in Spirit, 1915 Vol. I, No. 1 All Comers Welcome
Pleased to Make Your Acquaintance

Welcome, Friends of the Chauchat

Collectors · Parts · Memorabilia · Good Argument

Whether you have a rusted barrel in the shed, a box of old magazines, or only a fondness for the most misunderstood machine gun of the Great War, you are among kin here.

Join the Forum Visit the Trade Post Play The Trench Run

Know the Gun at a Glance

The Chauchat, Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG, left side A shaded side-view drawing of the assembled Chauchat with its bipod deployed: flared muzzle, front sight, slim barrel jacket with cooling vents, long tubular receiver, half-moon magazine, wooden knob grip, pistol grip and wooden buttstock. Numbered callouts match the parts key below the drawing. Overall length 1,143 mm · 45 inches 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Plate I. The Chauchat, left side. Drawn for the Society from a photograph of a complete gun, with every proportion measured from it. Hover or tap a number, or a part’s name, to match them up.
  1. Muzzle. The flared cone at the end of the barrel jacket.
  2. Front sight. A blade on a collar clamped round the jacket.
  3. Barrel jacket. The slim forward tube, pierced with cooling vents.
  4. Front band and sling swivel. Carries the bipod hinge and the front sling loop.
  5. Receiver. The long tube at the heart of the gun. Barrel and bolt recoil together inside it, the full length of the stroke.
  6. Rear sight. A block on top of the receiver, with a folding leaf.
  7. Rear cap. Closes the back of the receiver tube.
  8. Bipod. Two long, light legs hinged at the front band.
  9. Magazine. The half-moon: twenty rounds of 8mm Lebel.
  10. Forward grip. A turned wooden knob for the left hand.
  11. Trigger and guard. A plain trigger in a narrow loop guard.
  12. Pistol grip. Grip panels on a stamped steel frame.
  13. Buttstock. Wood, held by a steel tang along the receiver.

Hunting for one of these parts? Post a wanted notice on the Trade Post, or ask on the forum what it should look like.

See the gun field-stripped →

The Sho-Sho, in Brief

The Chauchat, officially the Fusil Mitrailleur Mle 1915 CSRG, was the French Army’s light machine rifle of the First World War. It weighed about twenty pounds loaded, fired the French 8mm Lebel cartridge from a twenty-round half-moon magazine, and was meant to be carried into the attack and fired on the move.

American doughboys nicknamed it the “sho-sho”, and its reputation for jams and overheating is legendary. Collectors love it anyway, for its bold, odd, unmistakable mechanical character.

Read the full history →

What Goes On Here

The ForumMarkings, bolt faces, magazine springs, and where to find a good original. Newcomers especially welcome.
The Trade PostParts, accessories, memorabilia and wanted notices. Read the trade rules first — the law applies to every deal.
The GalleryPhotographs and plates, each with its credit. Send yours in.
The Trench RunA blocky little war in the browser: Chauchat in hand, German infantry coming over the wire, shells and Minenwerfer bombs falling. Jams and all.

Start here

A Note for the Newly Arrived

This Society is run by enthusiasts, not by a dealer, a museum or a government. Nothing here is legal advice. Chauchat machine rifles and the parts the law treats as machine-gun components are regulated in the United States; please read the trade rules before offering anything, and talk to a lawyer before any sale that involves regulated parts.